Heinz Class Action Over ‘Made in USA’ Label May Survive Dismissal Bid

A Heinz 57 sauce shopper says she’s provided enough facts in a “Made in the U.S.A.” false labeling class action lawsuit to keep the case alive.

Kraft Heinz asked that the Heinz 57 “Made in the U.S.A.” class action lawsuit be dismissed last month arguing that the plaintiff Suzanne Alaei did not specifically show evidence that the ingredients in question were foreign-made.

However, Alaei fought back stating that California’s Business and Professions Code makes it illegal to sell any product using the words “Made in U.S.A.” if the item “has been entirely or substantially made, manufactured, or produced outside of the United States.’”

The plaintiff says that Heinz 57 sauce includes various amounts of turmeric, tamarind extract, and jalapeños which are made outside of the U.S. and at this point, the court must accept those allegations as true since it contains “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.”

Alaei further states that Heinz’s argument that she only purchased one bottle of Heinz 57 sauce and therefore is not in a position to represent a potential Class, misses the mark. In the brief opposing the bid for dismissal, Alaei claims that it’s unfair to restrict the plaintiff from seeing injunctive relief simply because she may not purchase the sauce again now that she knows the product was falsely advertised.

The class action lawsuit was filed by Alaei in January 2016 after she allegedly purchased a bottle of Heinz 57 based on its claims of being “Made in the U.S.A.” Alaei says she spent $6.29 on the bottle of sauce believing it was a superior product that supported American companies at the same time.

However, the plaintiff alleges that she (and other potential Class Members) were tricked by Kraft Heinz because shoppers have limited knowledge of the components in a product and whether or not they are actually “Made in the U.S.A.”

“Due to [Kraft] Heinz’s scheme to defraud the market, members of the general public were fraudulently induced to purchase [Kraft] Heinz’s products at inflated prices,” Alaei states in her brief.

If approved, the “Made in the U.S.A.” class action lawsuit will be open to all Class Members within the State of California who purchased one or more Heinz products that were advertised with a “Made in the U.S.A.” designation that were actually foreign-made and/or composed of foreign-made component parts, within the last four years.

Alaei believes that although there may be some differences within various Kraft Heinz products, the deceptive “Made in the U.S.A.” labels and the way the company misleads shoppers is similar across the board and so the court should permit the plaintiff to sue over multiple items.

The plaintiff is represented by Abbas Kazerounian of Kazerouni Law Group APC.

The Kraft Heinz “Made In U.S.A” False Labeling Class Action Lawsuit is Suzanne Alaei v. H.J. Heinz Co., et al., Case No. 3:15-cv-02961, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

UPDATE: The plaintiff who got a second chance at pleading the Kraft Heinz class action lawsuit is facing a second attempt at dismissal.